1. the dog in the manger（牛槽裡的狗）

　　once a dog was taking a nap in the manger of an ox. it was full of hay. but soon the ox came back from his work to the manger. he wanted to eat his own hay. then the dog awoke, stood up and barked at the ox. the ox said to the dog, “do you want to eat this hay, too?”

　　“of course not,” said the dog.

　　“then, go away and let me eat my own hay.”

　　“oh, no. you go away and let me sleep.”

　　“what a selfish dog! he will neither eat the hay himself, nor let me eat it !” said the ox to himself.

2.the lion, the bear and the fox（獅子、熊與狐狸）

　　long ago a lion and a bear saw a kid. they sprang upon it at the same time. the lion said to the bear, “i caught this kid first, and so this is mine.”

　　"no, no,"  said the bear.“i found it earlier than you, so this is mine.” and they fought long and fiercely. at last both of them got very tired and could no longer fight.
　　a fox who hid himself behind a tree not far away and was watching the fight between the lion and the bear, came out and walked in between them, and ran off with the kid.
　　the lion and the bear both saw the fox, but they could not even catch the fox.　the lion said to the bear, “we have fought for nothing. that sly fox has got the kid away.”

3.the boys and the frogs（男孩與青蛙）

　　one spring day some naughty boys were playing near a pond. they began to throw stones into the water. in the pond lived many frogs were much afraid of the boys, for the stones hurt some of the frogs. at last an old frog lifted his head out of the water and said, “boys, please don’t throw stones at us.”
　　the boys said, “we are only playing.” “i know that, but please stop throwing stones, my boys. what is play to you is death to us,” said the old frog.
　　so the boys stopped throwing stones and went away.

4.the two travelers（兩個旅人）

　　many years ago two men were traveling together they were walking along a road in the wood.
　　then they found a beautiful ax on the ground. one of them picked it up and said, “look here have found an ax.”
　　“don't say i, but we have found the ax,” said the other “we are friends. we ought to share it between us.”
　　“no,” said the first one, “i  found the ax, so it is mine.”
　　soon after they heard someone running after them. they looked back. they found he called out, “stop, thieves! stop, thieves !”
　　the first traveler said, “what shall we do? he is running after us. we shall be caught by him.” “don't say we, but i  shall be caught. you found the ax, and you say it is yours,” said the other, and left him alone.
　　the first traveler tried to hide the ax, but he did not know where to hide it. and at last he was caught by the owner of the ax.

5.the ant and the dove（螞蟻與鴿子）

　　one day a little ant was walking along the bank of a stream. his foot slipped and he fell into the water. “oh, help, help!” cried the ant. a dove was sitting on a branch of a tree over the stream and heard his cry of help. “oh, poor ant!” said the dove. “i will help the ant.”
　　the dove pulled off a leaf and dropped it near the ant. “here is a leaf. climb on it,” said the dove. the ant climbed on it at once and floated to the bank.
　　a few days after this a hunter found the dove and was going to shoot her. just then the ant passed by and said to himself, “this time i must help the dove.” the ant ran to the hunter and bit his foot hard. the hunter sprang up and missed to shoot the dove. the dove said to the ant, “thank you very much, my little friend. you have saved my life,” and she could fly away happily.

6. the cock and the jewel（公雞與寶石）

　　one fine morning, a cock said to the hens and chickens, “come, let us go out to find some food. we have not had our breakfast yet.” then the cock began to dig the soft earth. suddenly he cried, “look, look! i have found something strange. i wonder what it is. it is like a ball. but it is not a stone. it may be an egg of some bird.”
　　the hens heard his cry and came around him. one of them said, “dear me! this is not an egg, but a jewel. someone has lost it.” a chicken asked, “can we eat it?” “no,” said the hen, “it is very precious to human beings, but it is of no use to us; we cannot eat it. throw it away and try to find some worms. i want to have one worm than all the jewels in the world.”

7.the wolf and the dove（狼與山羊）

　　one day a wolf saw a goat on a high cliff. he was jumping to and fro and was grazing.
　　the wolf wanted to eat him, but he could not climb up there to catch him. so he said to the goat, “good morning, my good friend goat! come down here!
　　if you slip down the cliff, you will break your neck. and the grass is short and dry up there. come down! the grass is long and tender here.”
　　“thank you, mr. wolf, but never mind. i am used to playing here, and i like the grass here better. i would rather eat day grass than be eaten by a wolf,” said the goat.

8.the hare and the tortoise（野兔與烏龜）

　　one day a hare met with a tortoise at the foot of a hill.
　　“hallo, little tortoise! where are you going? how short your legs are!” said the hare.
　　“ i am going over to the hill. i am a slow runner, but i can run a race with you,” said the tortoise. “all right. let's run a race with you to the top of the hill,” said the hare.
　　the hare and the tortoise started. the hare ran very fast. the hare said to himself, “ i can much faster than the tortoise, and i may have a little nap here.”
　　so the hare lay down under a tree and was fast asleep. but the tortoise did not stop for a moment. he walked on and on. at last he got to the top of the hill.
　　the hare woke up and looked around, but he could not see the tortoise. he sprang up and ran as fast as he could. when the hare got to the top of the hill, he found the tortoise was resting there peacefully.
　　the tortoise said to the hare, “now, mr. hare! which was the faster runner, you or i?”

9.the lion and the mouse（獅子與老鼠）

　　once a great lion was sleeping in a wood. a little mouse happened to come and ran over his face. the lion awoke and caught the little mouse in anger, and was going to kill her. “ oh, dear kind lion!” said the little mouse. " please forgive me. i didn't mean to do you any harm. let me go. i shall return your kindness."

　　" ha, ha, ha,"  laughed the lion. " how can a little thing like you help a great lion?" " thank you very much, kind lion! i hope i shall be able to do you a good return some day,"  said the little mouse.
　　some time after this, the lion was caught in a trap. just then the little mouse came along. at once she ran up to the lion, and said, " you were very kind to me once. now i'll save your life, and repay you the kindness which you showed me the other day."  soon she gnawed the ropes of the trap with her sharp teeth, and the lion was happy to be free again.
　　" thank you, little mouse!"  said the lion, and he walked away.

10.the trees and the ax（樹與斧頭）

　　once upon a time a man came into a forest. he said to the trees, “will you give me a piece of hard wood ?” the tree said, “yes, we'll give you a good price of hard wood.” he was very glad to get a good piece of wood. he hurried home with it. at once he made a new handle of his ax. then he went to the forest again and began to cut down all the best trees in the forest. the trees were very sad. they said to one another, “we suffer for our own foolishness.”

11.the fox and the grapes（狐狸與葡萄）

　　early in the fall, a fox saw ripe grapes in a garden. he wanted to eat them. he said to himself, “how lucky i am! i've found some nice grapes.” he crept into the garden, and came to the grapes. he jumped up at the grapes, but he could not reach them. he jumped again and again, but in vain. at last he gave it up, and said to himself, “the grapes are sour. i don't want sour grapes.” and he went away.

12.the dog, the cock and the fox（狗、公雞和狐狸）

　　a dog and a cock were good friends and they were traveling together.
　　when night came on, the cock flew up to a tree and slept there, and the god found a hollow in the same tree and slept in it. when the morning came, the cock woke up and began to crow.
　　a hungry fox heard this crow and wanted to get the cock for his dinner. then the fox said to the cock, “what a beautiful morning this is! i want to talk to you. you have a very sweet voice. won’t you come down and have a chat with me?”
　　“thank you, mr. fox. but how about your coming up here? it is very nice and cool here,” replied the cock. “all right, i will. but how can i get up?” asked the fox. “just go round the trunk below me, and wake my servant in a hollow. he will open the door for you,” said the cock. the fox came near the hollow. and the dog rushed out, sprang upon the fox and killed it at once.

13.the wolf and the crane（狼與鶴）

　　one day a wolf was eating his dinner hastily and swallowed a bone. it stuck in his throat. he tried to get it out, but he could not.
　　just then a crane flew down to him. “ dear crane!” said the wolf to the crane. “i'm in trouble. a bone has stuck in my throat. will you put your head into my throat and pull it out? you have a very long neck and i'm sure you can reach it. i will pay you well for it.”
　　“all right. i'll help you. open your mouth as wide as you can,” said the crane, and put his head into the wolf’s mouth and pulled out the bone. “thank you very much, my friend,” said the wolf. “now i must be paid for the work,” said the crane.
　　“well,” said the wolf. “you put your head into my throat, but i did not bite off your head. isn't that enough for you? go along and don't talk about rewards.”

14.the man, his son and their donkey（一個人和他的兒子與他們的驢子）

　　a man and his son were driving their donkey along a country road. they saw some girls drawing water at a well.
　　one of the girls said, “oh, look! how silly they are! a man and a boy are walking along beside their donkey, and nobody is riding it.”
　　the man heard this and said to his son, “you had better ride our donkey. you are light, so you will not tire our donkey.” in a little while they met three old men. one of them said, “see here! the boy is riding a donkey and his old father is walking by his side. the young boy does of take care of his old father.”
　　and the man got on the donkey and his son walked along beside it. now they were very happy. but soon afterward they met three women. fastened it to a pole. they lifted it to their shoulders and carried it along to the town. when they came to a bridge, everyone laughed at them. and the donkey did not like the noise and began to kick. it broke the rope, fell into the water and was drowned. so the old man had to take his son and go home. the man said to his son, “he who tries to please everybody pleases nobody after all.”

15.the ants and the grasshopper（螞蟻與蚱蜢）

　　one fine winter day some ants were working in the field. they were drying their food in the sun, and were very busy. just then a grasshopper passed by. he was very hungry.
　　“good day, kind ants,” said the grasshopper. “i am very hungry. won't you lend me a little food? i have nothing to eat. i will pay you before the next fall.” “have you no food of your own? why did you not gather any food during the summer? you know there was much food in the field last summer. what were you doing then?” asked an old ant.
　　the grasshopper replied; “i was singing all day and night during the summer. and so i had no time to gather any food.  please lend me some food.” “well, then,” said the ant. “as you sang all the summer, you had better dance all the winter. you only played and did not work during the summer. we'll never lend you any food.” and the ants went on working.

16.jack and the robber（傑克與強盜）

　　jack was a farmer's boy. once he drove his cart to market. he had butter and eggs to sell.
　　he met a woman on the way. she gave him a piece of silver for a little butter. then he met a boy. the boy gave him a piece of silver for six eggs.
　　soon jack had plenty of silver in his pocket. as jack went along, a man came up to him, and said, “stop!”
　　so jack stopped on the way again. the man gave him some wine. jack drank it, and fell asleep on the roadside. when jack woke up, his silver was not in his pocket. it was all gone.
　　the man was a robber, and poor jack went home sadly. 

17.abraham lincoln（亞伯拉罕‧林肯）

　　abraham  lincoln's father and mother were very poor and the family lived in a log cabin in the wood.
　　abraham had to walk about five miles to school, as there was no school near his eleven years old, he had to leave school and work he loved to study and after working hard all day, he user to study to study by the firelight. he grew to be a wise and good man. he was elected president of the united states.
　　at that time there was a war between the north and the south. the people of the south wanted to own slaves, but those of the north thought that it was wrong to own slaves.
　　then the south and the north fought for four years and at last the north won and the slaves were set free.

18.a bad dream（一個惡夢）

　　one afternoon ben was playing in the back yard, a big black cat jumped over the fence and lay down among his mother's plants.  ben crept up to the cat. he caught it by the tail and dropped it into a tub of water.
　　his mother looked out of the window and saw him. she called him into the house and scolded him for such a cruelty. then she told him that he must go to bed and stay there till evening.
　　before long ben fell asleep. he dreamed that he grew very small a very very big cat seized him in its mouth and ran away with him he kicked and screamed, but he could not get away, at last the cat dropped him and he fell into a big pond. he sand down, down into the cold water. then he woke up.

19.king alfred and the cakes（阿佛列王與糕餅）
　　
　　king alfred o f england once led his army to fight with another army and was beaten. so he had to run away through the woods and swamps to save his life.
　　one evening he came to a woodcutter’s hut. he was very tired and hungry, so he begged the woodcutter’s wife to give him something to eat and a place to sleep in. he was ragged and dirty and she did not know that he was the king. she felt so sorry for him that she told him to come in and gave hem a seat near the fire.
　　she was baking some cakes. she said to king alfred, “ i must go and milk the cow. watch the cakes and do not let them burn. “ the king was willing to do this, but he kept thinking about his army and soon forgot all about the cakes. in a few minutes the woman came back and found the cakes burning. she was so angry that she struck the king with a stick and cried, “ you lazy fellow! you want to eat, but you do not want to work.”

20.tony's lie（湯尼的謊言）

　　one day tony was a very bad boy. he told a lie to his mother. that night felt very unhappy. he did not want to play with the children.
　　he sat on the doorstep alone. he looked up in the sky and saw the big round moon. he thought that it was looking down upon him, because it knew about the lie. he ran down the street to get away from it, but it kept following him. then he crept into the house and went to bed, but the moon looked at him through the window. he pulled the sheet over his head, but he could not sleep. then he crawled under the bed and lay there in the dark. he thought and thought about the lie.
　　at last he decided to tell his mother all about it. he told her the truth and she forgave him. he promised never to tell a lie again.
　　he went back to bed and was soon fast asleep. he dreamed that the moon smiled down upon him.

21.jack and the beanstalk（傑克和豌豆）

(part 1)
once upon a time there was a poor widow who had an only son named jack. all that they had was the house they lived in and a cow. at last they became too poor to keep the cow. the widow said to jack one day, “take this cow to the market and sell her. then we’ll be able to buy bread. try to get as much money as you can.” jack, who was a good, but thoughtless boy, started for the market with his cow. on his may to t he market he met a man who had a pig with him. “good morning,” said the man. “good morning,” answered jack. “won’t you give me your old cow for this fat young pig?” said the man. jack thought it a good idea. so he ax-changed his old cow for the young pig he walked on happily until he met another man who had some fine beans. “these are magic beans,” said the man. “i’ll give you one of them, if you give me that pig.” jack thought it wonderful to have a magic bean. so he consented to it and carried the bean proudly back home. he showed the bean to his mother. “is this all that you have got for that cow?” she said. “now, we have on cow to give us milk. all we have is this bean.” she got angry. she threw it out of the window. the bean fall in their garden. during that night is sprouted and grew in a wonderful way. when jack and his mother woke the next morning, they saw that the beanstalk had grown so high that they could not see the top jack made up his mind to climb to the top of the beanstalk. higher and higher up he climbed until he found himself near a window of an old castle. looking in, jack saw a giant eating his, dinner. the giant finished his dinner and ordered his servant to bring his chief treasures, a hen and a harp. lay eggs,” said the giant to the hen. the hen began to lay eggs. they were eggs of gold. “play,” said the giant to the harp. the harp began to play sweet music. the harp played on and on until the giant grew tired and fell asleep.

(part 2)
jack had crawled into the room by this time. when the giant was asleep, a servant beckoned to jack. “look here. these are the treasures which the giant stole from your father before you were born,” said he. “take them back to your mother, if you like. but, be quiet. he may wake.” jack thanked him, and picked up the hen and the harp very carefully. when he was climbing down the beanstalk, the harp happened to make a loud noise. the giant woke. jack climbed down the beanstalk, with the hen and the harp under his arms. the giant ran down after jack, but jack ran faster than the giant. when he was near his home, he called out to his mother, “mother, bring an ax.” his mother brought an ax. she saw her son climbing down the beanstalk. as soon as he got down to the ground, he chopped down the beanstalk. down fell the giant with the beanstalk. he broke his neck, and was dead. jack and his mother were rich all the rest of their lives and lived happily ever after.

22.the happy shoemaker（快樂的鞋匠）

(1)once there lived a rich merchant and a poor shoemaker in the same house. the merchant occupied in the same house. the merchant occupied the second floor, but the shoemaker lived and worked in a small room on the first floor. the shoemaker was one of the happiest persons on earth. he worked from morning till night, singing merrily. his heart was filled with joy, whenever he looked at the boots and shoes to be repaired. now the merchant upstairs was so rich that he hardly knew how much wealth he had. he was always counting over his gold and silver coins far into the night. even in bed his uneasiness about his riches kept him awake when at last he had been asleep for an hour or two, up came the song of the happy shoemaker, who was an early riser. it continued all day and was a trouble to the merchant day by day the merchant grew more and more tired through want of sleep he asked a wise friend of his how he could put an end to the shoemaker's song. “well, if i were you, i would give the shoemaker a hundred pounds,” answered his friend. “you are rich enough to do that, i suppose. ask for nothing in return. simply give the money. ”the merchant readily followed the advice.

(2)when the shoemaker opened the bag that had been sent by the merchant, he was amazed to find shining coins. “i must hide this from the eyes of my neighbors. if they see it, they will think that i have stolen it,” he thought. “i will keep it away even from my wife.” so he hid the bag of money under the floor. from then on he avoided his neighbors as much as he could. his wife who had been the best companion to him, became troublesome now his mind was too much set on the money bag to attend to his work with diligence. he could not sing merrily now. whenever he thought of the money bag, he became uneasy and unhappy. at length one day his wife said to him in tears, ---“dear husband, what makes you so sad and uneasy? all our neighbors say you have changed. i wish you were as good and gentle as before.” he was so sorry for her that he told her everything. “we were happy before the merchant gave us the money, ” said his wife, when she heard the story. “we have good health. we have plenty of work to do. what more do we need? send the money back to the merchant, and the happy life that was once ours will return to us.” the shoemaker agreed and went to the merchant to return the bag of money. “sir” he said, “let me return this to you. by giving this to me, you have spoiled my happy and easy life. so i want to have it back by returning your present.” merry song was again heard all over the house. he was as happy as he had ever been.

23.the three wishes三個願望

a man and his wife were always wishing for luck. one night a fairy came to them and said, “you may have three wishes.” in the morning the woman went to a neighbor’s house to get some bread. she saw a nice pudding there. when she came back, she said, “i wish i had a pudding like that! she did not think of the three wishes, but there was a pudding beside her. “silly!” cried the man, you have lost one of your wishes, and we have only a pudding. i wish it were on your nose!” at that, the pudding jumped up and grew fast to her nose. “silly, yourself!” cried the woman, “you have lost another wish. we have only one wish more.” “what shall it be?” asked the man. “we must wish this pudding off,” said the woman. “i can’t have it on my nose.” so they wished it would go away, and away it went. they had had their three wishes, but they were on better off than when the fairy came to them.

24.childe rowland恰德羅蘭

(1)long ago there was a little princess named ellen. she lived with her mother, the queen in a great castle y the sea. she had three brothers. one day. as they were playing ball, one of her brothers threw the ball over the castle. ellen ran to get it, and did not come back. the three brothers looked for her. they looked and looked, but they could not find her. day after day went by. at last the oldest brother went to a wise man and asked what man. the wise man told him as he had told the oldest brother. then the next brother set out to find the dark tower. the youngest brother waited. he waited long, but no one came back. now the youngest brother was called childe rowland. at last childe rowland went to his mother, the queen, and said, “mother, let me go and find the dark tower and bring home ellen and my brothers. “i cannot let you go. you are all that i have now,” said the queen. but childe rowland asked again and again, until at last the queen said, “go, my boy. ”then she gave him his father’s sword, and he set out. he went to the wise man and asked the way. the wise man told him and said: “i will tell you two things: one thing is for you to do, and one thing is for you not to do. “the thing to do is this: when you get to the country of the elves, hold your father’s sword, pull it out quickly, and cut off the head of anyone who speaks to you, until you find the princess ellen. “the thing not to do is this: bite no bit and drink no drop until you come back. go hungry and thirsty while you are in the country of the elves.” childe rowland said the two things over and over, lest he should forget. then he went on his way. he went on and on and on, until he came to some horses with eyes of fire. then he knew he was in the country of the elves. a man was with the horses. “where is the dark tower?” asked childe rowland. “i cannot tell. ask the woman that keeps the hens,” said the man. childe rowland took the sword and off went the man’s head. then he went on and on, until he came to some hens with eyes of fire. an old woman was with them. “where is the dark tower?” asked childe rowland. “go and look for a hill,” said the old woman. “go around the hill three times. each time you go around say: “open, door! open, door! let me come in. “when you have gone three times around, door will open. go in.” “when you have gone three times around, door will open. go in.”
 
(2)childe rowland did not like to cut off the head of the old woman, but he thought of what the wise man had told him. so he took hold of the sword, and off went her head. after this he went on and on and on, until at last he came to a hill. he went three times around it, and each time he said: “open, door! open, door! let me come in.” when he had gone three times around, a door opened. in he went. the door shut after him, and he was in the dark. soon he began to see a dim light. it seemed to come from the walls. he went down a long way, and at last he came to another door. all at once it flew open, and he found himself in a great hall. the walls were of gold and silver, and were hung with diamonds. how the diamonds shone! and there sat the princess ellen in a big chair of gold, with diamonds all about her head. when she saw childe rowland, she came to him and said: “brother, why are you here? if the king of the elves comes, it will be a sad ay for you.” but this did not frighten childe rowland. he sat down and told her all that he had done. she told him that the two brothers were in the tower. the king of the elves had turned them into stone. soon childe rowland began to be very hungry, and asked for something to eat. all at once he thought of what the wise man had said. so he threw the bowl down upon the floor, and said: “not a bit will i bite, not a drop will i drink, till ellen is free.” then they heard a great noise outside, and someone cried out:---” fee-fi-fo- fum!  i smell the blood of an englishman!” the door of the hall flew open and the king of the elves came in. childe rowland took his sword. they fought and they fought. at last childe rowland beat the king of the elves down to the ground. “stop!” cried the king of the elves. “i have had enough.” “i will stop when you set free the princess ellen and my brothers,” said childe rowland. “i will set them free,” said the king. he went at once to a cupboard and took out a blood-red bottle. out of this bottle he let a drop or tow fall upon the eyes of the two brothers, and up they jumped. childe rowland took the hand of his sister ellen and went out of the hall, and up the long way. the two brothers went after them. and they all came out from the hill and found their way back to their own home. how glad their mother was!

25.the monkey and the turtle猴子與海龜

one day a monkey who was very hungry met with a turtle creeping along the road. “my dear slow foot, can’t you find anything to eat for me?” said the monkey. “o yes, sly head, i can,” said the turtle. “ come this way; there is a banana-plant just over there.” soon they came to the banana-plant bearing lot of ripe fruit. the monkey climbed the plant, but before he could pick some bananas, the turtle cried, “run, sly head, run! here comes a man!” instantly he came down and ran in a hurry. but the turtle could not run, but she caught the monkey’s tail in her mouth and the monkey pulled her away. when they were safe, the monkey said, “slow foot, that man did not catch you because i pulled you away.” “o no, sly head, on!” the turtle said, “you were not pulling me. i was pushing you.”

26.dickens and his cat狄更斯與他的貓

charles dickens, the famous english novelist, wrote a great many boo he had a cat of which he was very fond. she was a fine persian cat with pure white fur. one evening, as he was absorbed in reading one of his favorite books by a candle-light, the candle suddenly went out. he was surprised, but took a match, struck it, and lighted the and lighted the candle again, and once more sat down to read. you can imagine his astonishment when he again found himself in complete darkness. he looked around the room, lighted the candle again, and began to read once more. after a while he stopped and looked up. he saw that his cat was trying to put out the light with her paw. the cat’s intentions were quite clear to him-she wanted him to stop reading and play with her a while. of course he did this, and besides he gave her some milk. the cat was quite contented. she went over and curled herself into a ball on the sofa to take a nap. then dickens continued to read, and this time pussy did not interrupt him again.

27.talking to a fish與魚交談

one day a negro went to a fish shop to buy some fish for his dinner. he picked up a fresh fish, and after examining it carefully, he held it up to his nose and smelled it. “hey! what’s this?” cried the master of the shop. “why do you smell that fish, do you think it,” answered the negro. “then what were you doing with your face so close to the fish?” asked the master. “i wasn’t smelling the fish; i was only talking to it,” answered the negro. “talking to it!” said the shopkeeper, why, what on earth did you say to it?” “i asked him if there was any negro. “well, and what did the fish say to that?” asked the shopkeeper. “he said he didn’t know the latest news, because he had been away from the sea or more than three wee”

28.peter pan彼得潘

once there lived in england a little girl whose name was wendy darling she had two brothers john darling and michael darling. their house was small house made of brick, and they kept big dog called nana, and nana acted as nurse to the three children.

   nana was very clever, and she always took care that the children would put on pajamas after warming them at the fire sometimes the children would not go to bed, but nana always made them do as they were always made them do as they told. mrs. darling loved nana and she had very good reason for keeping nana as the children’s nurse one night, when she went into the nursery, she saw a strange shape flying to and fro in the dim light.

when this shape saw mrs. darling, it rushed to the window after it, just as ran out into the night, mrs. darling suddenly closed the window. and mrs. darling rushed to the window after it ran out into the night, mrs. darling suddenly closed the window. the shape fled; but something fell on the floor at mrs. darling’s feet. it was the shadow of this strange flying shape. mrs. darling picked up the shadow and put it in a drawer; but she felt very anxious about the safety of her children. she was afraid that the shape might come back and hurt them, but she hoped that nana would come to the nursery and protect them from all danger. but some days after that nana was led to the yard to sleep in her kennel. that night the window was pushed open and the strange shape slipped into the room and began to dance about.

“where is my shadow?” it cried. nana barked furiously outside. “i can’t be happy without my shadow. tinker bell, tinker bell, where is my dear little shadow?” cried the shape. at that a tiny ball of fire flew into the room, and sprang round the room. wherever it went it made a tinkling sound like a little silver bell. now this little ball of fire was really a fairy girl. she told the shape where the shadow was. soon the drawer was opened, the shadow was pulled out, and the shape danced round the room with delight. the shape could find its shadow, it was true; but it could never put it on again. and so all the delight went, and the shape was so unhappy that tears filled its eyes and rolled down its chee just at that time, wendy woke up. she was not afraid, but asked the little shape why it was crying. then she asked it its name, and the shape told her that it was peter pan. wend got a needle and some thread and sewed the shadow on to peter pan, and then peter pan danced with joy, for wherever he went the shadow followed him on the floor. peter pan then told wendy the story of his life. he said that he lived in a place called never-never-land, with a lot of little boys who had all been dropped out of their baby carriages by careless nurses. he also said that they lived with fairies ever would remain happy boys in this enchanting never-never-land. he then told her that when the first baby laughed, the laughter broke into little pieces, and each little piece became a fairy, and went dancing about the world. but whenever a child said that it did not believe in fairies, then one of the fairies died. peter pan said that it was a dreadful and wicked thing for a child to say that it did not believe in fairies. there was only one thing that made them sad, he sad, and that was the want of a mother; all the boys in never-never-land wanted to have a mother very much indeed. wendy asked if there was any little girl among them who could pretend to be their mother; but peter pan shook his head and answered that girls never dropped out of their baby-carriages; they were far too clever. this pleased wendy, and she loved peter pan. “oh, wend,” cried peter, “come and live with us and be our mother!” wendy’ s brothers woke up. peter pan said he would teach them all to fly if wendy would only come and be their mother. when the children heard that they could learn to fly, they were quite excited, and at once began to jump up into the air. but every time they jumped they fell onto the ground, “look and fly as i do,” cried peter; and so saying, he flew gracefully high up into the air, and sailed noiselessly round the room. soon the children learned, and all began to fly round the room with cries of delight. then the windows were opened wide, and tinker bell led the way into the night. peter held wendy’ s hand and they floated away into the starry night. very soon mrs. darling, who had just come home from the theater, rushed into the nursery with nana at her heels. but it was too late. the children had already left for never-never-land.

(2)now, the boys in never-never-land were beginning to get anxious about peter pan, who was their leader. he was away for a long time, and they were afraid of wolves and pirates. by and by they saw something that looked like a large white bird in the sky. as they looked at it, tinker bell suddenly shone on the trees, and told them that peter pan wanted them to shoot this bird at once. so they ran and got bows and arrows, and shot the bird. suddenly down it fell—what do you think it was?-----poor wendy fell with an arrow in her breast. but wendy was not dead. soon she felt well, and then with her brothers round her, and peter pan holding her hand, she promised all the boys to be their mother. then they began working and built wendy funny little house, with john’s silk-hat for a chimney; and every body was very, very happy. but tinker bell was very jealous of wendy. though they were so happy in their house, there were on the lake near the forest some terrible pirates. the captain of these terrible pirates was named james hook. all his crew were afraid of him and trembled when they saw him. his long black hair was fearful, the wrinkles on his face was fearful, his eyes were fearful, and his voice was fearful. but, above all, his right hand was most fearful. it wasn’t a common hand at all; it was an iron hook. peter pan had once driven this terrible pirate into the sea, and a huge crocodile had bitten off his hand and part of his wrist. the crocodile followed the captain wherever he went, and wanted to have another bite. it dreamed of the happy day when it could eat him all up. the captain always knew when this fearful enemy was near, because on one occasion it had swallowed an alarm-clock. it was so made that it would go for one century without stopping. now the ticking of this clock could plainly be heard even through its thick skin. it ticked so loudly that the captain could al-ways hear it coming, and it was the signal for him to run! but the captain was afraid, because he knew the clock would stop some day. then the crocodile would come up behind him and eat him up. so he grew to hate peter pan, and wanted to kill him. the home of the lost boys was in the forest by the lake. they lived under the ground for fear of the pirates and the wolves. each boy had a special staircase hollowed in a tree-trunk; so that they could easily run down among the roots of the trees into their cave. wendy, you must know, had become the mother of these boys, and they all loved her, because it was so delightful to have a mother after having lived so long without one. wendy gave each of the boys some medicine, taught them how to behave nicely, and put them all in their comfortable beds at night. though she was only nine years old, wendy was quite a splendid mother. the lost boys were protected by some friendly indians. on this day, up came the pirates, and suddenly there was a stamping overhead, and a sound of people fighting and struggling here and there. the pirates had attacked the red indians by surprise. the battle was very soon over. the indians were beaten and ran away, or crawled seriously wounded into the forest. the pirates won a victory close above the children’s heads. now, on this night, before the fight had started, wendy had been telling the boys a story about her own father and mother-a beautiful story which showed how her father and mother must be crying for their lost children. as she was finishing her story, john and michael sprang up in their beds and said, “wendy, we must go back quickly!” “yes, answered wendy, “we must go back quickly” you can imagine how sad all the motherless boys were when they heard that wendy was going home. they cried so much that at last she told them they might return with her and her brothers. she said they could live in there house, and have mr. and mr. darling for their father and mother. all the boys except peter pan were very glad to hear that. peter pan said he did not want to grow up. he did not want to live in a real house and go to school. he wanted to live always in never-never-land. so they all said good-by to peter pan, and climbed up the staircases in the tree-trunks which led from their underground home to the forest. wendy was the last to go, and before she went she left some medicine for peter and mad him promise that he would take it when he woke up in the morning. but the pirates were there on the ground waiting for them to come out. the boys were caught as they stepped on the ground; a rough hand was held over their mouths to prevent them from crying out, and they were carried away to the pirate ship with wendy.

(3) wendy and all the lost boys were now on board the pirate ship. peter pan lay asleep in his underground bed. he was alone. captain hook was creeping down the stair-case above. now was the chance for the captain to kill peter pan. he crept up to the door and peeped in. peter pan was fast asleep. the captain tried to open the door and failed. again and again he tried to open the door with his hook, but without success. peter pan was safe. but, no! the terrible captain found the glass of medicine left by wendy on a shelf; he reached toward it, and then, taking a bottle of poison from his pocket, poured the contents into the glass. peter pan woke up. he remembered his promise to wendy, and went to drink the poison. at that moment tinker bell rushed in, crying, “don’t drink! don’t drink!” but her warning was useless. “i have promised wendy,” answered peter, and walked toward the glass, stretching out his hand. just as peter was about to drink, the little tinker bell flew into the glass and drank all its deadly contents. then its light flamed weakly and went pale, and it fell toward the bed dying. peter pan knew there was only way in which he could possibly save tinker bell. “do you believe in fairies? oh, please say you believe in fairies!” cried peter pan to all the children in the world. and back from the children everywhere, who were so sorry for poor tinker bell, came the answer, “we believe in fairies. so tinker bell got well again and was saved. then she told peter pan how the pirates had carried off the lost boys, with wendy and her brothers, to their ship, and that they were all in very great danger. the poor children were all at once driven into the dark and dirty hold. captain hook thought that at last he had them in his power. “are all the children chained so that they cannot fly away?” he asked. “yes, captain,” replied his men. “then bring them up, ”shouted the captain. he seated himself. on a chair on the deck, waiting while the boys were dragged out of the hold and brought before him. six of them, he said, were to walk the plank at once, but he would save any two of them who were willing to be cabin boys. the children could not understand him well, but hook soon explained them the meaning by roaring out something like a song; ”yo ho! yo ho! the jolly plank, you walk along it so----- till it goes down, and you go down to tooral looral lo.” then he waved his hook to show them that when the plank tipped they would be shot into the water and drowned! but peter pan had already started out. he had an alarm-clock in his pocket. it had begun ticking. “tick! tick! ter-ick, tick, tick!” the captain heard, and at the dreaded sound, he shouted, “the crocodile! hide me! hide me!”  he rushed into a corner of the ship, while his men crowded round him, anxious to protect their captain from the terrible crocodile. the boys, too, waited, breathless with horror. at last, with sudden relief and joy, they saw, not the crocodile, but their brave leader, peter pan, appearing over the ship’s side. in one hand he held the alarm-clock, the ticking of which had made the captain believe that the crocodile was coming to eat him. peter pan dashed into the cabin unseen by the pirates, and closed the door. the ticking stopped at once, and the captain’s terror disappeared. captain hook again began to sing his song “the jolly plank,” but the boys, filled with hope and delight, drowned his voice by singing “rule, britannia, britannia rules the waves.” and just as the captain was about to force them to walk the plank, he was silenced by a terrible shriek from the cabin. the captain ordered one of his men to enter the cabin and find out what was the matter. the man went, but did not return. once more they heard that dreadful shriek. the rest of the men were now frightened. they refused to enter the cabin; one threw himself into the sea. “drive the boys in—let them fight the terror,” cried the captain. “if they kill him. so much the better; it he kills them, we’re none the worse.” this, of course, was just what the boys wanted, but, hiding their delight, they allowed themselves to be driven into the cabin. but as for the pirates, all of them were so terrified that no one saw peter pan steal out, followed by the boys. no one saw peter pan cut the ropes with which wendy had been bound, take her the brown cloak she had left, while wendy joined the boys. "it's the girl!" cried the captain, "there's never luck on a pirate ship with a girl on board; let's throw her into the sea!" all the men knew that their captain was right, and one of them started up and cried to the figure at the mast, "there's nothing can save you now!" "there is one," came a ringing voice, and the brown cloak was thrown aside, and there stood peter pan. "down, boys, and at them," the captain shouted, and the boys, armed with the weapons peter pan had found and given them in the cabin, rushed down upon the lower deck. a terrible fight followed. some of the crew jumped into the sea; others rushed at the boys with their knives, while captain hook tried to escape into the cabin, fighting for his life. "put away your knives, boys; that man is mine!" cried peter pan, pointing to captain hook. hook's men jumped one by one into the sea and were drowned. peter pan and captain hook appeared at the cabin door, fighting violently. step by step, hook was driven back to the side of the ship. at last, peter pan pushed him into the sea, right into the mouth of the waiting crocodile, which ate him up at last. the boys burst into ringing cheers as they and wendy crowded round their hero, who stood like a victorious napoleon while the pirate flag was lowered. then wendy and all the boys went home, and you can imagine how glad mr. and mrs. darling and nana were to see their lost children again. mrs. darling had always kept the window open, and used to sing "home, sweet home," hoping that the children might hear her and come back. but peter pan, all alone in never-never-land, longed for little wendy; and mrs. darling allowed wendy to go every now and then to visit peter pan, and see that his house was nice and tidy. peter pan never wanted to grow up, and wendy never forgot the fairies.

--------by james barrie(easified)

29.the dog and his shadow（狗和他的影子）

once there was a dog in a village. he stole a piece of meat from a butcher's shop and ran off with it. he wanted to eat it at home. on his way home he came to a narrow bridge over a stream. as he was crossing the bridge, he looked down and saw his own shadow in the water. he thought it another dog with a larger piece of meat than his. he tried to get that piece, too. he opened his mouth and barked at the shadow. but the dog in the water was not a real dog, but his own shadow. so he dropped his own piece of meat into the water, and lost all.

30.the crow and the pitcher（烏鴉和水罐）

once there was a crow. he was very thirsty, so he was looking for water. then he happened to see a pitcher under a tree. he flew to it and looked in. there was a little water in it, but he could not reach the water. “i want to drink that that water,” said he to himself. “ how can l drink it?” he looked around. he saw small stones. so he flew to them and took one small stone and dropped it into the pitcher. then he carried another small stone, and dropped it into the pitcher. he went to the stones and carried one stone every time. the water rose higher and higher. at last it came to the top of the pitcher. and now he could drink the water.

31.the fox and the crow（狐狸和烏鴉）

one day a crow was sitting on a branch of a tree. she had a piece of cheese in her beak beak. a fox happened to pass by, and saw the cheese. he said to himself, “l want to have that cheese for my dinner. perhaps i can get it by a trick.” then he said to the crow,” good morning, my dear mrs. crow! how beautiful you look today! how bright your pretty eyes are! you are the queen of birds. i’m sure you have a very sweet voice. will you please sing a song for me?” the crow was very glad, and began to sing. as soon as she opened her mouth, the piece of cheese fell to the ground. the fox snapped it up and said to the crow, “ my dear crow, you are beautiful, but you are not wise. beware of flatterers.” and the fox ran away with the piece of cheese. the crow was very say sad now, and said, “ caw! caw! caw!”

32.the fox and the goat（狐狸和山羊）

one day a fox fell into a well. he tried to get out of it, but he couldn’t. just then a goat came to the well. she wanted to drink some water. she looked down into the well and saw a fox there. the goat said to the fox, “is the water good?” “yes, i will,” said the goat, “for i’m very thirsty.” the goat jumped into the well and drank much water as she liked. after a while the goat said to the fox, “how can we get out of this well?” the fox said, “well! stand on your hind legs and put your forefeet on the wall. then i will climb upon your back and get out. after that i will help you out.” “oh, it’s a fine idea,” said the goat. and the fox got upon her back and jumped out of the well. “now help me out, please!” said the goat. “you foolish fellow!” said the fox. “why didn’t you think of how to get out, before you jumped in?” so saying, he ran away.

33.the wolf and the lamb（狼和小羊）

once upon a time a wolf was drinking water at a brook on a hillside. when he looked up, he saw a little lamb beginning to drink water a little down. the wolf wanted to eat the lamb. he thought he could catch the lamb by a trick. he said to the lamb. “you are making the water dirty, and i cannot drink it.” the lamb said, “am i making the water dirty? that is impossible. you see, you are higher up than i. the water runs down from you to me, so i cannot make it dirty." " well, then," said the wolf, " for i was  born this year." " i don’ t care,"  cried the wolf." if it was not you, it was probably your father."  then the wolf could say no more, and went away.

34.belling the cat（把鈴掛在貓身上）

once some mice were living in a farmhouse. they all met together and talked about the cat in the farmhouse. “we can not stay here long with that cat near us. she has eaten many of us. how can we keep her from killing us?” said one old mouse. one proud young mouse said, “i have a good idea. we never hear her when she comes. what do you say to hang a bell around her neck? then we can hear her when she is coming.” “that is a splendid idea. let us tie a bell around her neck. now we can run away before she catches us,” said another. just then the old mouse stood up and said, “your plan is very fine, but who can hang a bell around the cat’s neck?” all the young mice were silent, and only looked at one another.

35.the bear and the two travelers（熊和兩個旅客）

two men were traveling together through the wood.  then a dig bear suddenly appeared before them. one of them climbed up quickly into a tree and hid himself in the branches. the other wanted to climb up another tree, but there was no time to do so. the bear was just near him. so he fell flat on the ground and pretended that he was dead, for he knew that a bear will not touch a dead body. the big bear came up to him, and smelled him all over. he lay as still as he could, held his breath and pretended to be dead. the bear examined him closely and walked slowly away. when the bear had gone, the traveler in the tree came down, and said, “the bear looked as if he were talking to you. what did he whisper in your ears? he replied, "he gave me this advice: never trust a friend who deserts you in time of need!"

36.the stag at the lake（在湖邊的雄鹿）

one hot day a stag came to a lake to drink, and saw his own shadow in the water. " how beautiful my antlers are! but i'm very sorry my legs are very thin and ugly," said he to himself. just then he saw a lion coming toward him. he ran away as fast as fast as he could, and the lion could not catch him. "oh, how thankful i am for my good, long legs ! these legs have saved my life,"  he said. but when he came to a thick wood, his antlers caught in the branches of a tree. he tried to free himself from the branches, but he could not. at last the lion found the stag and caught him, and killed him.

37.the father and his sons（父親和他的兒子們）

a father had three sons, but the brothers were always quarreling. their father tried to make them good fiends, and called all his sons to him. he showed them three sticks and said, “i want to talk to you. take these sticks and tie them together. then try to break the bundle of stic” the oldest son tried with all his strength but he could not break it. then the other two did the same, but neither of them could break it. “now,” said the father, “untie the bundle and each of you take one stick and try to break it.” either of them could break the stick easily. then the father said, “my sons, when the sticks are bound together, it is very strong, and you cannot break it. but when they are united, you can break each stick easily. when you work together and help one another, you can become as strong as the bundle. but if you only quarrel and do not stand together, you will be broken as easily as these stic”

38.the farmer and the snake（農夫和蛇）

one cold day in winter a farmer was working in his fields. then he found a snake. it was stiff and nearly dead with cold. he said, “oh, poor thing! i'll take it home.” at once he laid it near the fire, and got it warm. but as it grew warm and felt pleasant, it raised its head, sprang at the farmer and tried to bite the kind man. “you ungrateful creature!” said the farmer. “i can't keep you alive.” so saying, he killed the snake with a stick.

39.the ass in the lion's skin（披著獅皮的驢）

once an ass found a lion's skin on the road. he was very glad to get the skin. at once he put it on. he said to himself, “now can go anywhere in the forest. i am the king of beasts. well, i will frighten the timid animals.” he was very proud of the skin, and went into the forest. soon he met hares. when they saw his face, they were all frightened and ran away. then he met a goat. she was frightened, too, and went away. at last he met a fox. he tried to frighten the fox and cried out in a loud voice. but the wise fox said to him, “oh, you are not a real lion. you are an ass. you are braying, and not roaring. if you keep silent, you will frighten me. but i know you by your voice.” soon after that the owner of the skin caught the ass, and killed him.

40.the birds, the beasts and the bat（鳥、野獸和蝙蝠）

there was once a great battle between the birds and the beasts. the beasts won the battle. on their way home, one of the beasts met a bat. “oh, you are a bird. i'll eat you “up,” said the beast. “no, no, ”said the bat. “i am not a bird. i am a mouse. look at the fur all over my body, and at my mouth with its sharp teeth,” and the bat safely ran away. a few days later there was a second battle. this time the birds won. when one of the birds found the bat, he said, “you are a mouse. i must kill you.” “no, no,” said the bat. “i am not a mouse. i am a bird. look at my wings. after several battles between the birds and the beasts, they were friends again. but they could not trust the bat. and the bat had to hide in dark places in the daytime. this is why a bat flies about only at night.

41.the north wind and the sun（北風和太陽）

one day in winter, the cold north wind was blowing hard. then the sun began to shine from among the clouds. the north wind said to the sun, “i am very strong. i am stronger than you. i am the strongest in the world.” the sun said, “no, no. you are not so strong as i.” “well, i’ll show you how strong i am,” said the north wind. just then a traveler came along. he had a thick cloak on. “i can make that man take off his cloak,” said the north wind. and he blew and blew. but the traveler held his cloak closely about him. then the sun said, “now i’ll try.” the sun began to shine upon him. it became warmer and warmer. the traveler said, “how warm it is!” and took off his cloak. “now you see i am stronger than you, mr. north wind,” said the sun.

42.the fox and the crane（狐狸和鶴）

one day a fox met a crane in the plain. the fox said to the crane, “hello, dear crane! will you come to dine with me?” and the crane said, “oh, thank you, i will.” the crane went to his house. when the crane sat at table, she found only a very shallow dish before her. there was some soup in the dish. the fox began to eat the soup easily. the crane tried to eat it, but she could only wet the tip of her long bill, and she had to leave most of it. then the fox said to the crane, “i'm very sorry. you don't like soup, do you?” but the crane said to the fox, “thank you for your nice soup,” and went home. a few days later the crane invited the fox to dinner. when they sat at table, two long-necked jars were put before them. in the jars was some meat. the crane enjoyed the meat, but the fox could not reach it, for the mouth of the jar was very narrow. the fox could only lick the mouth of the jar. the fox was much ashamed of his own folly, and hurried back to his house.

43.a clever dog（一隻聰明的狗）

mrs. hellen had a very clever dog named black. he often helped her by going to buy bread. one morning she gave him a basket with twenty cents in it and told him to go to the bakery and get two loaves of bread. he took the basket in his mouth and trotted down the street to the bakery. the baker wanted to tease black. so he took the money and put it into the drawer, but he did not give him any bread. black put down the basket and began to bark. the baker laughed and patted him on the dead. he said, “you're a good dog.” he took two loaves of bread and put them into the basket. black wagged his tail, picked up his basket and started for home. he walked proudly down the street. he carried the basket in his mouth. everybody looked at him and smiled.

44.piccola（畢可拉）

once there lived in france a little girl. her name was piccola. her father was dead and her mother was very, very poor. on christmas eve piccola said to her mother, “will santa claus come to our house tonight?” her mother looked very sad and shook her head. at bedtime piccola pulled off her little wooden shoes and put them on the floor near the chimney she said to her mother, “perhaps santa claus will come.” in the night a little bird with a broken wing fell down the chimney and hopped into one of the shoes. very early in the morning piccola woke up. she jumped out of bed and ran to look into her shoes. there she saw the little bird in one of her shoes. she picked u the shoe and ran to show her christmas present to her mother, and, “ santa claus did not forget me.”

45.grace darling（葛瑞絲‧達玲）

one september morning there was a storm at sea and a ship was driven on a rock. it was broken in two by the waves and half of it was washed away. some of the sailors clung to the other half. there was a lighthouse. on an island not far away grace darling and her father lived in the lighthouse. they saw the poor sailors clinging to the wreck. grace said to her father, “we must try to save those men.” “it is on use, ”said her father. “we cannot reach them.” grace was not willing to give up. so she and her father started in a heavy rowboat. grace pulled one oar and her father pulled the other, it was hard to row against the big waves. at last they reached the wreck and took the poor sailors into their boat. they rowed back to the lighthouse with them and gave them warm food and dry clothes. in a few days the storm was over and the sailors want to their homes. they felt very grateful to grace darling and her father.

46.pandora（潘多娜）

long, long ago the people lied very happily in the beautiful world, and nobody was ever sick. at that time there was a beautiful little girl named pandora. one day a fairy gave her a wonderful box. it was tied with a golden cord and the fairy made her promise not to open it. pandora and her little friend, epimetheus, often looked at the box and wondered what was in it. for a long time pandora kept her promise to the fairy, but at last she wanted to peep into the box. she untied the cord and lifted the lid a very little. then hundreds of bad little fairies came out. they stung pandora and she fell screaming on the floor. they stung epimetheus, too. then they flew out of the door and stung all the children in the world. by and by pandora heard a little voice. it said, “let me out and i will help you. ”she opened the box and out flew a beautiful little fairy. she told pandora that her name was hope. she kissed her and epimetheus and made them well. then she flew away to help the other children. to this day, when people are sick and unhappy, the good little fairy, hope, comes to comfort them.

47.an ill-natured neighbor（一個壞心腸的鄰居）

an ill-natured, jealous peasant saw his neighbor's getting a very good harvest. as he was unable to be glad of his neighbor's blessing from god, he devised the way how to destroy his neighbor's happiness. to attain his purpose he caught a fox, tied a lighted torch to its tail and drove it in the direction of his neighbor’s fields. seeing the fox reached the field, it changed its direction, and began, to hiss amazement, plunging into his own fields where the grains had almost been ripe. a few minutes had passed before all his fields were enveloped in volumes of flames. he sorrowed, lamented, rushing about in his neighborhood, and devised to lay the blame at his neighbor's door. but as his neighbor had been believed to be very honest since ages ago, and, on the contrary, he had been reputed as an ill-natured man, none could place any confidence in his words. a misdeed only leads one to a snare set for others.

48.a miser man（一個守財奴）

a very stingy man who had no pleasure but that of making money sold his all, namely, his place and fields, and forged all the money he received into a mass of gold, and buried it in the ground. every day he visited the spot, which was one of his daily greatest pleasures. then a man who occasionally came to the neighborhood saw this miser digging up the earth with joy. when this neighbor went there and dug the earth, he found a buried treasure, to his great astonishment. he resolved to run off with it outright. when the miser came to the spot the following day, he found his treasure missing, to his great amazement. it furious agony and desperation, he cursed god and man tearing his hair like a mad man. when a pedestrian asked his of his bitter sorrow, the miser told his story in great detail, but the passenger comforted and consoled him, saying, “you need not cry over your loss of treasure. i think your loss is not so great as you think. bury in that place a stone of the same size in place of your mass of gold, and regard it as your lost one. you will hardly tell the difference the two, because, as far as you are concerned, gold is all one with a stone in point of utility.” happiness does not consist in owning money, but in reasonable using of it.

49.the hare and the tortoise（野兔與烏龜）

one fine hot bay mr. hare met with mts. tortoise. mr. hare said to mrs. tortoise: “what a slow walker you are! you cannot run so fast as i, to be sure!” “well, my friend, let us run a race and see which of us will win. let us run up to the top of that hill,” said mrs. tortoise. “all right!” said mr. hare. so they started a race. mrs. tortoise walked with a slow, steady pace, up to the top of the hill. she never stopped a moment. but mr. hare ran, almost flying like an arrow. on the way he often stopped to eat grass. when he went halfway up the hill, he lay down for a nap, saying, “if mrs. tortoise passes by me, i can easily catch up with her.” when he awoke and looked around, he could not see her. then he ran up the hill as fast al he could, and at the very top, he found mrs. tortoise at rest. she had won her success. “slow and steady wins the race.”    **”slow and steady wins the race.”     

50.the dog and his shadow（狗和他的影子）

a dog who was crossing a river with a piece of meat in his mouth happened to look over the side of the bridge saw his own shadow in the water. the foolish dog took his own shadow for another dog with a piece of meat larger than his own, and let go his own meat so that he could attack the other dog and get his meat from him. of course he lost his own meat by this, for it sank to the bottom and he was not able to get it back. then he saw that the other dog had lost his piece, too. and he went sadly home. *** “grasp all, lose all”

51.the fox and the crow（狐狸與烏鴉）

once upon a time a crow stole a piece of cheese, and flew with it to a tree. she sat on a branch of the tree and began to eat it. just at that time a fox was passing by and saw her. he was hungry and wanted the cheese. “i want to have that piece of cheese for my dinner,” he said to himself; “but how can i get it? i cannot climb the tree.” “good morning, mrs. crow, good morning,” said mr. fox. “how beautiful your feathers are! your voice must be as beautiful as your feathers are. just sing one song for me. after that i will call you the queen of birds.” mrs. crow was much delighted, and began to sing “caw! caw! caw!” down fell the sly fox wanted. and without waiting to hear the rest of the song, mr. fox picked it up quickly, and away with it, saying, “ your voice is really sweet and beautiful, mrs. crow, but you not very clever.”

52.the crow and the pitcher（烏鴉與水罐}

one day a crow saw a pitcher and, feeling ready to die with thirst, flew to it with joy hoping to find it full of water. when he reached it he discovered, to his great disappointment, that it contained but a very little water, and that so low in the pitcher that he could not reach it. he tried every means in his power to get at the water, even endeavoring to overturn the vessel, but this he was not strong enough to do. at last, seeing some peddles lying about, he brought them one by one and dropped them down the neck of the pitcher, and, thus, by degrees, he raised the water up to the brim, when he was able to drink to his heart’s content. *** “necessity is the mother of invention.”

53.the lion and the mouse（獅子與老鼠）

long ago a great lion was fast asleep in the wood. a mouse ran over the lion's paw. the great lion woke up and caught the little mouse, and was going to kill her. the poor mouse looked up.“ o dear lion! ’’ cried the mouse; “ do you kill me? please spare my life. if you spare my life now, i will repay you some day.” “ how can you repay me?” said the lion. “you are too small to help a great lion.” but he lifted the paw and away the mouse ran. not long afterward, the lion was caught in a net, and could not get out. “ i can' t break this net,” he said, “ i'm afraid i shall be killed.” just then the little mouse happened to pass by. she ran up to the lion and said, “ kind friend, i will help you.” she cut the ropes of the strong net with her sharp teeth. “ thank you,” said the lion. “ i see that even a little mouse can help a great lion.”

54.the man, his son and his ass（男人、他的兒子與他的驢子）

a man and his son were once driving their ass along a country road, to sell him at the fair. they soon passed some girls, who were drawing water at a well. “look,” said one of the girls; “see those silly people trudging along in the dust, while their ass walks at ease.” the man heard what they said, and put his boy on the ass’s back. they had not gone far before they came to some old men. “see here, now,” said one of them to the others. “this shows that what i said is true. nowadays the young take on care of the old. see this boy riding while his poor old father has to walk by his son to get down, and he mounted the ass himself. in a little while, they met three women with children in their arms. “for shame！” said the women. “how can you let that poor boy walk when he looks so tired, and you ride like a king?” the man then took the boy up behind him on the saddle, and they rode on to the town. just before they got there, some young men stopped them, and said, “is that ass yours?” “yes,” said the man. “one would not think so,” said they, “by the way you load him. you look more fit to carry him than he to carry you.” so the man and the boy got off, tied the ass’s legs with a rope, and fastened him to a pole; and, each taking one of the pole, carried him along, while everyone they met laughed at them. by and by they came to a bridge. then the ass began to kick, and, breaking the rope, fell into the water, and was drowned. the old man took his son, and went home as best he could, thinking to himself, “when we try to please everybody, we please nobody.”

55.the lark and her young ones（雲雀與她的幼兒們）

a lark had made her nest in spring in a field of young green wheat her little ones had been growing larger and stronger all the summer, while the wheat grew taller and closer about their home. as autumn drew near, the young birds were almost old enough to fly, and the wheat was nearly ripe. one day the owner of the wheat-fled came, and the little larks herd him say to his son, the little larks heard him say to his son, “i think the wheat is already ripe, so we must ask our friends to come and help us gather it in.“ this startled the little birds. when their mother came home they told her what they had heard. “there is no need for moving yet my children said the mother. but when she left them as usual the next morning she told them to listen to what the farmer would say if he came again, and to tell her exactly what it was, when she came back to them. after a few days the owner of the field came again, and the eager birds listened to get more news for their mother. “since our friends have not come,” the farmer the farmer said to his son, “go and ask your “not yet,” said the mother; “the man who only asks his friends to help him is not who only asks his friends to help him is not to be feared; but watch and listen, if he comes again.” and by and by he came. seeing the wheat so ripe that it was shedding its grain, he said, “tomorrow we will come ourselves and cut the wheat.” and when the birds told this to their mother, she said, “it is time now to be off, my children, for the man is in earnest this time. he no longer trusts to others to do his work, but means to do it himself.” *** ”self-help is the best help.”

56.the wind and the sun（風與太陽）

the north wind was rushing along and blowing the clouds as he passed. “who is so strong as i?” he cried. “i am even stronger than the sun.’’ “can you show that you are stronger?” asked the sun. “a traveler is coming over the hill,” said the wind. “let us see which of us can first make him take off his long cloak. the one who succeeds will prove himself the stronger.” the north began first. he blew a gale, tore up trees, and raised clouds of dust. but the traveler only wrapped his clock more closely about him, and kept on his way. then the sun began to shine. he drove away the clouds and warmed the air. higher and higher he climbed in the blue sky shining in all his glory. “what a fine day we are having after the blow!” said the traveler, as threw off his cloak. ***

“kindness is a greater governor than anger.”

57.the woodman and mercury（樵夫與mercury神）

once upon a time, a woodman was cutting down a tree by the side of a lake. by accident he let his ax fall into the water. as he lost the tool with which he had gained his livelihood, he sat down upon the bank and felt very sad about his hard fate. to his surprise, mercury appeared, and asked him what was the matter. when he heard the story of the man’s misfortune, he dived to the bottom of the lake, and, bringing up a golden ax, asked if that were the one he had lost. hearing that it was not his, mercury dived a second time, and, returning with a silver ax in his hand, again asked the woodman if it were his. the woodman denied this too, saying that it was not his. mercury dived a third time, and brought up the very ax that the man had lost. this the poor man took with joy and thankfulness. so pleased was mercury at the honesty of the man, that he gave him the other two axes besides his own. ***when he returned home, the woodman told his companions all that had happened. one of them decided to see if he could secure the same good fortune for himself. he ran to the lake, and threw his ax in on purpose, then sat down upon the bank and lamented his sad fate. mercury appeared as before, and wanted to know the cause of his grief. after hearing the man’s story, he dived, and brought up a golden ax, and asked him if that were his. delighted at the sight of the golden ax, the fellow answered that it was, and eagerly attempted to get hold of it. the god saw that he was dishonest, and refused to hand it to him. the man went home disappointed. *** “honesty is the best policy.”

58.the milkmaid and her pail of milk（牛奶女工與她的牛奶桶）

dolled the milkmaid having been a good girl, and careful in her work, her mistress gave her a pail of fresh milk for herself. with the pail upon her head, dolly tripped gaily along on her way to the town, where she was going to sell her milk. “ for this milk,” said dolly, “ i shall get a shilling, and with it i will buy twenty of the eggs laid by our neighbor’ s fine fowls. “ the mistress will surely lend me a hen, and, allowing for all mishaps, i shall raise a good dozen of chic “ they will be well grown before the next fair-time comes round, and it is then that chickens bring the highest price. i shall be able to sell them for a guinea. “ then i will buy that sweater that i saw in the village the other day, and a hat and ribbons, too; and when i go to the fair, how smart i shall be! “ robin will be there and will come up and offer to be friends again. but i won’ t come round too easily; and when he wants me for a partner in the dance, i shall just toss up my head and__ ” here dolly gave her head the least bit of a toss, when down came the pail, and all the milk was spilled upon the ground. poor dolly! it was hr good-by to eggs, chickens, sweater, hat, ribbons, and all. *** “don’t count your chicken before they are hatched.”

59.ulysses and the bag of winds（ulysses與風袋）

long, long ago, there lived upon a little island a greek king named ulysses. one time ulysses sailed far away across the sea to fight for his country, and for ten long years he was away from his beautiful wife and his little son. at last the greeks captured the city they were fighting against, and the war ended. “now i can go back to my island home,” said ulysses, joyfully, as he and his men set sail for home. “ once more i can see my wife and son!” on the way, they stopped to rest at the home of a king named eolus, who lived on an island in the sea. it was a wonderful island; all around it was a high wall of bronze. eolus was king of the winds. he could make the winds sleep so soundly that the sea would be as smooth as glass, or he could make them blow so hard that the waves would be as high as mountains. when ulysses was ready to start on his way again, eolus said, “i will help you to reach your home, ulysses. i will put all the stormy winds in this great bag of ox-hide. then they cannot harm you. “i will the bag with this golden chain; but i will leave out the gentle west wind, do bear you safely home. guard the bag of winds carefully. and do not let anyone untie the chain.” then the west wind blew softly and sent them in safety on their way. for nine days and nine nights ulysses guarded the bag of winds, until at last he became very tired and sleepy. now the men with ulysses did not know what was in the great bag. “see how he guards it !” they said. “surely it has gold and silver in it, for it is tied with a golden chain. we helped ulysses in the war; why should he have all the gold and the silver?” at last, on the tenth day, they came in sight of their dear island. “look, look!” cried the men, joyfully. “there are our green fields! soon we shall see our homes.” then the weary ulysses, thinking that he need not guard the bag any longer, fell fast asleep. “now we can see what is in the bag!” so they crept up to the bag and untied the golden chain. out flew all the stormy winds, roaring and howling! in a moment, great waves arose and drove the ship far from the land. the noise of the winds and the waves awoke ulysses. where was his little island home? where were the green fields he loved so well? they were far, far away, for the ship was out on the stormy sea. “oh, what shall i do?” cried ulysses. “i fear that i shall never see my home again. but i must not give up; i will try again and again. some day i may reach my home, and see my wife and son once more.” “after a long time, the stormy winds drove the ship back to the island where eolus lived. how glad ulysses was when “eolus can help us,” he said. “he will the winds again” but eolus was angry with ulysses and his men. “go away!” eolus said. “i will not help you a second time, for it is your own fault that he stormy winds are out of the bag.” so once more ulysses set out upon the sea, and it was many long years before he saw his island home again.

60.echo（林澗女神）

thousands of years ago the people told strange stories to one another, and believed many strange things. the believed that in all the woods and streams and hills and hollows lived fair creatures, and they called these creatures nymphs. these nymphs were fair and beautiful, and they loved beautiful flowers and murmuring broo the fairest of them all was echo, and her voice was the sweetest. but one day echo displeased queen juno. like, but you shall have nothing else. you shall never speak first. you can only answer when others speak to you.” poor echo! she became thin and pale, and thinner and paler, until at last queen juno’s word came. only her voice was left. she wandered from place to place in the woods, unseen, and heard only when others spoke. on a quiet evening you may hear her, if you walk near some high rock where she loves to hide. call to her, and she will answer, “ where are you?” you may ask. “ ---you?” she will reply. “are you echo?” you may ask. “ ----echo?” she answers. “come to me!” you cry. “-----me!” she replies. “i like you,“ you say to her. “----you, “ echo repeats. now a very curious thing is true. echo always answers in the same tone in which you speak to her. if you sing, she sings back to you. if you shout, she shouts to you again. if you cry, she cries, too. if you are cross and ill natured, she will be cross and ill natured, too. *** two brothers once went into the woods to find echo. they could not hear her voice, although they called and called. at last one of them cried impatiently, “ you are a mean old cheat!” quick as thought came back the cross reply, “----cheat! ” the other boy cried quickly, “ he didn’t mean that. ” the same tone came back in echo’ “---- that.” when the boys told their mother what had happened, she smiled, and said, “ that happens, the world over. gentle words will bring forth gentle words, and harsh tones will be echoed by harsh tones.”

61.narcissus（水仙花神）

long, long ago there lived in greece a young boy named narcissus. all day long he tended his sheep on the hills, and drove them from place to place to find the very best pasture. one day he came to a little stream and wanted to drink from it. the water was very clear and reflected everything that leaned over it. while narcissus was waiting for the sheep to drunk, he chanced to see his own face in the water. he had never seen his likeness before, and he was so pleased with the pretty picture that he looked at it for a long time. he forgot all about his sheep. the sheep waited for a long time near the stream, but at last they wandered away without the shepherd and were lost. jupiter, the great god of that country, was very angry whish narcissus for forgetting his sheep, and made up his mind to punish him. so narcissus looked at himself very log, and when he turned to look after his flock he found that his feet had taken root. he could not move nor lift his head, but had to keep it hung down. then, little by little, he changed into the flower that we know so well, the narcissus. this is why we often find this dainty flower growing on the banks of streams and always with its pretty head hung down.

62.arachne（織女神）

arachne lived in a small village on the shores of the mediterranean. her parents were very poor. while her mother was busy cooking the simple meals for the family, or working in the fields, arachne used to spin all day long her wheel made a steady whirring like the buzzing of some insect. she grew so skillful from constant practice, that the threads she drew out were almost as fine as the mists that rose from the sea near by.   one day arachne’s father, who was a fisher-man, came home with his baskets full of little shell-fish, which were of a bright crimson or purple color. he thought the color of the little shellfish so pretty that he tried the experiment of dyeing arachne’s wools with them. the result was the most vivid hue that had ever been seen in any kind of woven fabric. after this,  arachne’s tapestries always showed some touch of the new color. they now found a ready sale, and, in fact, soon became famous. arachne’s family moved to a much larger house. her mother did not have to work in the fields any more, nor was her father any longer obliged to go out in his boat to catch fish. arachne, herself, became as her tapestries. she heard admiring words on every side, and her head was a little turned by them. when, as often happened, people praised the beautiful color that had been produced by the shell-fish, she did not tell how her father had help her, took all the credit to herself. while she was weaving, a group of people often stood behind her loom, watching the pictures grow. one day she overheard someone say that even the great goddess, minerva, the patron goddess of spinning, could not weave more beautiful tapestries than this fisherman’s daughter. this was a very foolish thing to say, but arachne thought it was true, true. she heard another say that arachne wove so beautifully that she must have been taught by minerva herself. now, the truth is, that minerva had taught arachne. it was minerva who had sent the little shell-fish to those coasts; and, although she never allowed herself to be seen, she often stood behind the girl and guided her shuttle. but arachne, never having seen the goddess, thought she owed everything to herself alone, and began to boast of her skill. one day she said: “it has been said that i can weave quite as well as the goddess, minerva, if not better. i should like to have a weaving match with her, and then it would be seen which could do best.” these wicked words had hardly left arachne’s mouth, before she heard the sound of a crutch on the floor. turning to look behind her, she saw a feeble old woman in a rusty gray cloak. the woman’s eyes were as gray as her cloak, and strangely bright and clear for one so old. she leaned heavily on her crutch, and when she spoke, her voice was cracked and weak. “i am many years older than you,” she said. “take my advice. ask minerva’s pardon for your ungrateful words. if you are truly sorry, she will forgive you.” now arachne had never been very respectful to old persons, particularly when they wore rusty cloaks, and she was very angry at being reproved by this one. “don’t advise me,” she said. “go and advise your own children. i shall say and do what i please.” at this an angry light came into the old woman’s gray eyes; her crutch suddenly changed to a shining lance; she dropped her cloak; and there stood the goddess herself. arachne’s face grew very red, and then very white, but she would not ask minerva’s pardon, even then. instead, she said that she was ready for the weaving match. so two weaving frames were brought in, and attached to one of the beams overhead. then minerva and foolish arachne stood side by side and each began to weave a piece of tapestry. as minerva wove, her tapestry began to show pictures of mortals who had been foolhardy and boastful, like arachne, and who had been punished by the gods. it was meant for a kindly warming to arachne. but arachne would not heed the warning. she wove into her tapestry pictures representing certain foolish things that the gods of olympus had done. this was very disrespectful, and it is no wonder that when arachne’s tapestry was finished, minerva tore it to pieces. arachne was frightened now, but it was too late. minerva suddenly struck her on the forehead with her shuttle. then arachne shrank to a little creature no larger than one’s thumb. “since you think yourself so very skillful in spinning and weaving,” said minerva, “you shall do nothing else but spin and weave all your life.” upon this arachne, in her new shape, ran quickly into the first dark corner she could find. she was now obliged to earn her living by spinning webs of exceeding fineness, in which she caught many flies, just as her father had caught fish in his nets. she was called the spinner. the children of this first little spinner have become very numerous; but their old name of spinner has been changed to that of spider. their delicate webs often cover the grass on a morning when the day is to be fine.

63.the laurel of apollo（阿波羅的月桂冠）

one day cupid, the son of venus, sat on the bank of a river, playing with his bow and arrows. the arrows were very tiny. some of them had points of gold and the others points of lead. with the former cupid shot love into people’ s hearts; with the latter he shot fear into them. just then apollo, the great sun-god, happened to walk along the bank of the same river and when he saw cupid at his play, he laughed at him and said, “ ho! what are such little arrows as these good for? ” cupid’ s feelings were very much hurt at this. he said nothing, but decided to use his arrows on apollo. so he drew out two arrows a leaden one and a golden one. looking all about him for some mark for his arrow, he saw daphne, the daughter of the river-god, walking through a grove. cupid shot the leaden-pointed arrow straight at daphne’ s heart. with the golden one he struck apollo. as soon as apollo saw daphne, he loved her very much, but she was afraid and ran away. apollo ran after her, calling that there was nothing to fear, but she would not stop running .the faster apollo followed, the faster daphne ran. she ran till she came to the bank of her father’s river, and she was so tired that she could run no farther. she called to her father for help. the river-god heard her, and before apollo could overtake her, changed her into a tree, a beautiful tree with glossy evergreen leaves and pink blossoms as beautiful own chee when apollo came up with daphne, there she stood on the bank of the river, not a nymph any longer, but a beautiful tree. apollo gathered some of the leaves and made himself a wreath of its evergreen leaves, which he always wore for daphne’s sake. this tree still grows in greece and is called the laurel of apollo.

64.noah's ark（諾亞方舟）

the bible story tells that men and women became so wicked that god was sorry he had made the earth. he looked at the way men and women were living, and determined to punish them by sending a great flood; but there was one good man, and for his sake god saved the earth. this man was noah. he called noah, we are told, and bade him build a great ark out of wood, with rooms in it for his wife and is sons, and his sons’ wives, with one great window and with a mighty door in the side, the ark was to be covered with pitch inside and outside, and to be built so well that-it should have room for two of every living thing, with food for each one. noah, having made the ark, called two of every living thing upon the earth-animals, birds, and insects; and, laying in a great quantity of food, he himself, and his wife and his children, with all these other living things, entered the ark. when they were all in, the windows of the heavens were opened, and the water covered the highest mountains. and in the flood the wicked perished. but god remembered noah. the rain ceased, the waters passed away, and the sun-light went into the ark. then noah let a raven fly from the window of the ark, and in did not come back to him. noah then sent out a dove, which flew terrified above the waters and returned to the window of the ark. after seven days more noah sent out the dove again, and this time it returned bearing in its bills a leaf of olive. noah then knew that the earth was dry, and when he again sent the dove forth it did not return. then noah came out with his family, and on an altar of stones they offered thanks to god. so god was pleased with noah, and set a bow of light in the sky after the rain.

65.the forbidden fruit（禁果）

when god created the world the man was quite alone. seeing this, god said, “it is not good that the man should be alone; i will make a good companion for him.” he caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and took one of his ribs, and out of this rib, he made a woman. we call this man adam and this woman eve. god let adam and eve rule the earth and enjoy it. adam and eve lived in the garden of eden in peace and happiness! the animals came to them when they called them; the birds sang above their heads as they walked; and the fish came to the side of the lake to watch them as they stood in the sunlight. what a happy garden this was! what a peaceful paradise this was! but this happy and peaceful life did not last long. the bible tells us a strange story which fills our eyes with tears. and this is that strange story which the bible tells us. god had given man everything on the earth except one thing. there was one thing which man was not to do. if man did this one thing, he would lose all his peace and all his happiness. and man did do this very thing. the one thing man was not to do was to eat of the fruit growing on a certain tree in the garden of eden. there were a thousand other of which man might eat, but only this one was forbidden. it was god’s test of man’s love. if man loved god, he would not eat of this tree; if he did not love god, he would disobey. so, you see, this was god’s test of man’s love. well, satan, the wicked tempter, took the form of a serpent and glided into the garden of eden, and sought out eve while she was away from her husband’s side, and suggested to her that she should eat of the fruit. and, although eve did not at once obey him, she argued with him, instead of driving him from her. so the temptation to eat the fruit stayed in her mind; she allowed herself to think about it ; and at last the temptation was too great for her. she ate the fruit, and took it to adam, and persuaded him also to do this forbidden thing. then adam and eve heard the voice of god, and they were afraid and hid themselves in the trees. and god punished them. but the punishment was not a cruel one. he made them go out of the garden of eden and toil for their existence. now, though work is hard, it is yet far better than idleness; and in setting man to till the earth, god has provided him with the opportunity of becoming better and kinder and purer. have you ever seen a picture of adam and eve going out with tears and shame from their beautiful garden of innocence? and did you ever notice that over them the face of god was smiling with love and pity? god knows that his children shall one day return to their garden and to him.

66.the tower of babel{巴比塔}

we are told that in the beginning of the world all the people lived in one place. by and by, that part of the earth became very crowded, and many families began to move from place to place, looking for new homes. all the people moved into a country between two great rivers, the tigris and the euphrates. here they found that the soil could be made into bricks, and that the bricks could be heated and made hard. so it was easy to build houses to live in. then they wanted to build a great city and rule all the people around them. the people said to one another: "let us build a great tower, the top of which will reach to the sky. and let us give a name to our city, that we may be kept together and not scattered over the earth." so they began to build their great tower with bricks, which they piled up one story above another. but god did not wish all the people on the earth to live close together. god knew that if they all lived together, those that were wicked would lead away from god those that were good, and all the world would become evil again, as it had been before the flood. so while they were building the great tower, god  caused their speech to change. at that time all men were speaking the same language. but now they could not understand one another. the people that belonged to one family could not understand those of another family----just as, at the present time, the english cannot talk to the french until they have learned the french language. so the people scattered to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west, and the earth became covered with many people, living in many lands and speaking many languages. thus the tower stayed forever unfinished, and the city which they had built was named babel, which means confusion, because it was there that god changed the language of all the earth. the city was afterward known as babylon, and the tower as the tower of babel.